


Glitter-herpes be Damned

by kimono_mom_1024



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Acceptance, Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Glitter, Hurt/Comfort, Massage, My First Fanfic, POV Chloe, POV Lucifer, Protective Lucifer, Self-Acceptance, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 19:46:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18239384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimono_mom_1024/pseuds/kimono_mom_1024
Summary: Chloe and Lucifer's first in-person interaction after "the reveal" of Lucifer's "devil face" in S3E24.  Contains angst and fluff, an explosion, the promise of a massage, the herpes of the crafting set, and emojis.   Hope you enjoy!





	Glitter-herpes be Damned

 Chloe had had enough of...well, everything, lately.  Her body was on autopilot as she padded barefoot through her apartment, straightening up little messes as she went. Everything felt as if it were moving in slow motion, in part due to the thoughts swirling through her head, and in part due to her left arm being bound in a sling, thanks to the events of three days prior.  Though her vest had stopped the bullet fired by Pierce's henchmen, it couldn't stop the shockwave from the impact breaking her collarbone clean in two.  

Even as she went through the comforting motions of simple tasks, like slipping on her favorite PJ cotton shorts and tee, turning on lights as the sun slipped past the horizon, and tidying up from Trixie's last art project that had been strewn about the TV room floor, she felt as if she were mentally suffocating. Her suspension pending the outcome of the Pierce/Sinnerman internal affairs investigation and dodging Ella's unending texted questions about the humanly impossible forensics from the scene of the shooting were trying enough as it was. But adding Trixie's emotional state over her mom having been shot *again*, Maze's disappearance, and Dan's constant calling to check in, she felt as if her brain was drowning with noise, distracting her from figuring out her own dilemma over how to handle her partner. 

The only small saving grace was that her mother offered to watch Trixie for the week, giving Chloe the space she needed from her mother's particular brand of crazy and allowing her the space to process everything.  Presumably her mother wanted to give her the chance to grieve the death and betrayal of her almost-husband without having to worry about censoring her thoughts from her overly-perceptive child; but that sentiment was truly the furthest thing from Chloe's mind (not that she was keen to correct her mother's misconception if it meant having some cherished quiet). 

The devil.  Lucifer really was the devil. No metaphors or tricks of reflections, no special effects or parkour antics could ever again explain away what Chloe now knew to be true.  In some ways, she was surprised that this information *wasn't* particularly shocking to her.  _He really was truthful from day one..._  she mused silently to herself as she moved into the kitchen, pulling a pack of chicken and a bag of peas from the freezer.  Setting the chicken to thaw on the sink and draping the bag of peas over her collarbone, she absent-mindedly twisted the knob to preheat the oven, not looking closely enough to realize a glass dish was stored inside.

She cleared the stacks of dirty dishes from the counter and placed them into the washer, then wiped down the counter tops and put everything back in its place. As she accomplished these tasks and placed her makeshift ice pack/bag of peas back in the freezer,  scenes of all of the times Lucifer had done something she couldn't explain and each time he had saved her life (that she knew of) flashed through her mind.  She resisted the urge to put on a pot of very strong coffee.  Even though in times of stress she craved the little rush a good strong cup gave, she was having enough difficulties sleeping lately with how often the Devil had been haunting her dreams without having to deal with a caffeine rush on top of that.  

She leaned her hip against the sink counter, pulling her phone from her pocket to check for missed calls that she knew she didn't have. She debated leaving yet another message for Lucifer or Dr. Linda, but decided that the twenty calls she had made between them was probably enough for one of them to "get the hint," and let her know where Lucifer was, and more importantly, if he was ok.  Slipping her phone back into her pocket, she forced herself to clear her mind, her head falling back as she looked to the ceiling. As the oven reached its preset temperature and beeped, a wave of tiredness washed over her as she whispered, "Where the hell did you run to, Lucifer?" With a heavy sigh she turned her attention back to the frozen chicken package on the counter and added, "Lucifer, please be safe, wherever you are..."

Little did she know that at that moment, the phrase, "Speak of the Devil, and he will appear," was particularly true in her case.  

 ------------------

Lucifer stood silently in front of the window near the front door of the detective's apartment, watching in the shadows as she moved through her space.  Aside from the circles under her eyes, she still seemed the picture of the somewhat annoyingly steadfast and put-together perfection that Lucifer had always known.  After watching for a few moments, he had nearly convinced himself that the detective seemed fine enough to let him temporarily abandon his plan; but then she bent down to the floor to pick up some sparkly concoction that was most definitely the handiwork of her seemingly-absent spawn.  His slight sneer in regards to the excessive glitter (the herpes of the crafting set, as he had previously tried to convince the child) abruptly changed to a gasp of surprise as the detective's sling came into view.  

Self-loathing and a sickening sense of responsibility washed over him - - he hadn't realized that she was hurt.  Of course he knew she had been shot, but he thought that the vest she had been wearing had prevented any injury. Clearly he had been wrong. _I should have stayed to make sure she wasn't hurt,_ he thought. But instead, he ran and had left his partner in pain. _Since when had the Devil become a coward?_ he scoffed a tad bitterly, now staring blankly at the doorbell he was hesitating to ring, but also unable to walk away. 

He had indeed run after he realized she had seen his true form, winking himself and Pierce out from under her eyes just as police backup came rushing onto the scene.  He then unceremoniously dumped the former immortal's remains on a bruised-but-healing Maze to properly dispose of ( _Can't have the LAPD running tests on a corpse as old as time_ , he had reasoned, in a brief moment of clarity that shone through his panic), and in doing so had also come crashing into Dr. Linda's office; where he had spent the past three days hiding.

Despite her protests that she was neither a medical doctor nor a vet, she had mercy for her friend's physical and emotional state given everything that had transpired. And so the pair spent those three days dodging the detective's phone calls and plucking bullets out of Lucifer's wings.  In the process, Linda had been trying to help him work up the courage to face Chloe and her (presumably inevitable, he reasoned,) rejection of all that he was.  While he refused to entertain any hope of her acceptance after having seen his true form, Dr. Linda had managed to convince Lucifer that he needed to at least go to Chloe and explain everything, if for no other reason than to give them both closure and allow them the knowledge they both needed to heal.  

Despite Linda's sound reasoning and wise words, Lucifer mentally admitted to himself that the only reason he was even attempting such action had nothing to do with Linda's wisdom, and everything to do with the fact that she forced him to make a deal to do so in exchange for playing animal hospital with his wings. A quiet beeping sound registered in the back of his consciousness as he quietly lamented his current state. Damn the woman; Linda knew him well enough to know he would make the deal in a moment of pain and panic, and double damn her for knowing that regardless of the circumstances he considered his word as his bond. 

At that moment he felt a small mental tug that pulled him out of his thoughts, as if someone had just invoked his name in a whisper, nearly like a prayer.  He looked up through the window again, just in time to see the detective turn on her sink. Just as he was about to punch the glowing doorbell button, he heard a strange high-pitched noise, a surprised shriek, and loud bang. His head whipped back to the window just in time to see an explosion of glass that cascaded violently around the detective. 

His mental anguish was immediately shoved aside by his protective instincts, his eyes suddenly burning bright red. _Was it a bomb? A bullet? Did one of Cain's henchmen somehow survive to come back and finish the job?_  his thoughts raced in a split second as he roared Chloe's name and burst through the door.  But rather than facing any sort of apparent enemy, he was presented only with the sight of a completely stunned, slightly bleeding and very confused detective. 

 ---------

Completely unaware of the Devil and his emotional crisis taking place outside her window, Chloe unwrapped the chicken from its packaging and searched for wherever Maze had left her Pyrex dish. Having no luck with the cabinets, she peered into the oven and let out a frustrated sigh.  "Dammit Maze, I told you not to use the oven for storage," Chloe muttered to herself, snatching the oven mitt off the counter and sliding her good hand into it. She opened the oven door and picked up the dish with her gloved hand, only to be surprised at the instant heat that lanced through the mitt. "Shit!!" she quietly cursed as she dumped the hot dish in the sink. She slid off the glove to examine her lightly-burned fingers, only then seeing the thread-bear holes that were starting to form in the tip of the mitt. Without thinking, she turned on the cold water tap to soothe the burned finger pads.

The moment the first drops of cold water hit the dish a high-pitched noise resounded, almost as if the dish were trying to compress in upon itself. Chloe remembered a second too late that cold water plus hot Pyrex equals exploding Pyrex.  In a split second, she instinctively slammed the faucet off as she turned her head away from the sink, screwing her eyes shut, and shrieked in surprise as the dish literally exploded, showering her in pebbles of sharp glass that left several delicate little cuts along her arm and legs. She nearly shrieked again when she heard an all-too familiar British-accented voice suddenly roar out, "CHLOE!" as her no-longer-missing partner burst through her front door, his eyes blazing red with fear. 

\-------------

All time seemed to stop as the pair stared equally stunned at each other.  Chloe's mind raced, _He's here! Why is he in my kitchen?  Is he ok? Ohmygod --wait ok not God god - but Jesus, NO NOT JESUS-Jesus!  Erg! Oh his eyes are glowing... is he ok? He looks....scared? Why does he look scared?  What the hell do I say?_

Lucifer's mind was in a similar state, and simultaneously echoed, _She's alive!  She's ok...and she's not running!  Why is she not running? No she's not ok, she's bleeding...why in dad's name is she not running? What the bloody hell do I do now? What do I say?_  as his eyes faded to their normal depths of chocolate brown.   

After a moment that felt like an eternity, the slight stinging Chloe felt on her exposed arm and upper thighs drew her eyes downward as she noticed the several tiny cuts seeping small trails blood.  At the same time, she realized that unless she wanted to walk barefoot across broken glass, she was quite literally stuck in place. She looked up again at Lucifer's concerned face, as he scanned down her body for damage.  Just as his eyes met hers on their return trip to her face, she cleared her throat, and in as normal of a voice as she could manage, and said, "A little help here?"

Of all the things that he expected her to say upon their first encounter after she saw his “devil face,”that particular phrase was certainly not on his mental list.  "What?" he said confusedly, tilting his head as if she had impossibly spoken a language he didn't speak.

She shook her head, as if she were slightly annoyed at her current situation, but said as lightly as possible, "I said, 'A little help here?'  I've got a broom around the corner, and don't really want to walk across broken glass with my bare feet...so..." After a beat, her sentence seemed to register in his brain.  "Right," he said as he awkwardly stepped out of sight to find the broom. He felt completely off-balance from this seemingly normal activity, and felt his very teeth on edge. He was waiting for the tirade he assumed was to come from barging into the detective's space, no matter how well-timed his actions happened to be.  He somewhat helplessly stated "I...I don't see it," as he walked back into the kitchen.

"Dammit, Maze or Trixie must have moved it again...can you check by the TV?"  As Lucifer re-entered the line of sight of the kitchen, he saw that the detective was attempting to wipe away the small bits of blood on her good arm with a damp kitchen towel clutched awkwardly in her gimpy hand, her frustration growing at the lack of her range of motion from her injury as she tried.  His heart slowly rolled in his chest at the sight of his detective, feeling as if he were watching a bird trying to preen a gimpy wing.

With an abrupt snort and resolve that he didn't think he could feel, he sighed, "For dad's sake, hang on."  His long strides took him through the kitchen, his Italian loafers crunching the glass under his feet as he scooped up the detective in his arms. Too surprised by the sudden closeness to make a sound, Chloe's eyes popped wide open as he whisked her over the crunching glass hazard. He set her gently down on the TV room couch.  "Here," Lucifer softly said as he kneeled before her, gently taking the towel from her hand, and gently wiping away at the small scratches on her legs.

Though there was nothing inherently sexual in the gesture, Lucifer's slow and gentle attention had Chloe's face flushing.   _I've brought the Devil to his,_ knees Chloe thought, nearly giddy with nerves.  He was treating her with the same care as one would an injured animal, as if a single sudden move would send her bolting.  As his ministrations moved to her arm, realization hit her like a bolt of lightning. _He IS afraid of me bolting...oh my god he's afraid of *me* being afraid of him..._ She noticed Lucifer's usually calm and steady hands tremble slightly as he worked in silence, careful not to meet her gaze.  Her eyes welled up over the ache she felt lance through her heart. _He won't look me in the eye...he's afraid of me throwing him out of here..._ she thought as a few small tears escaped and plopped into her lap.  

Lucifer noticed the tiny droplets, and in a rush of concern, he looked up, finally meeting her gaze.  "Detective...I'm sorry...did that hurt? I didn't mean to hurt you...I don't mean to hurt you..." he ended on a stammer as he let the towel drop onto the couch.  

"No no, you didn't hurt me --" Chloe said as Lucifer abruptly stood up, seeming more distraught by the second.  

"Yes, detective, I DID!" Lucifer nearly shouted as he started pacing the room.  "I let Cain break your heart, I got you SHOT for dad's sake, and to top it all off I was so terrified of scaring you off with my 'devil face' I didn't even realize you were hurt!" Chloe's mouth open and closed, unable to formulate a response before he plowed on, "And now that I worked up the balls to come back and face you, I can't even tend to a bloody cut without causing you more pain!!" His tirade brought him back and forth across the length of the room, only to stop abruptly in front of Chloe once more, hands threaded through his dark locks of hair.  In nearly a whisper, his anguished voice cracked, "How the bloody hell can I stop causing you pain?"

Somewhere in the middle of his tirade, Chloe noticed something glinting off of Lucifer's pants legs.  He had been too distraught from Chloe's injury and his emotional tantrum to realize that he had two matching little patches of purple glitter clinging to his knees, obviously left over from where Trixie's art project had lain.  That was, as they say, the straw that broke the camel's back for Chloe. Her shoulders started shaking as she tried to contain herself, but the absurdity of the situation finally hit her funny bone at just the right angle to cause laughter to spill over and fill her living room.

Lucifer was completely taken aback by the laughing, at first hurt, thinking the detective was somehow mocking his pain. "...Detective?  Are you...alright?" he ventured, alert for whatever emotional swing was to come next. _Maybe this is what it looks like when some humans go crazy,_ Lucifer wondered as Chloe tried to catch her breath. She tried as hard as she could to stop, saying, "Yes, no, I'm fine....I swear...I'm so sorry;" followed by harder laughter.  Lucifer stood helplessly staring at her, convinced that he had finally broken his detective. "Oh god it hurts to laugh!!" she half-snorted as she palmed her collar bone, "I promise I'm not laughing at what you said, I'm so sorry!!"  

"You just...snorted..." Lucifer stated, completely befuddled.  "Why on earth--"

She finally got a hold of herself, gasping for air and wiping the laughter tears from her cheeks as she looked up at him with a smile. "I'm so sorry - the absurdity of this just...really...hit me."

"What's absurd, detective, is that you're sitting there laughing at me and invoking my father instead of screaming for the hills; or cursing me out of your life." Lucifer said curtly, his eyebrows lowering as his eyes searched her face for understanding.  

"No no, it's not!  It's...it just hit me that the Devil, that Satan himself, has not only has saved my life more times than I probably know of; but just had a misguided tantrum in my living room with glitter-herpes stuck to his Prada," she finished with her eyes twinkling, smiling the first genuine smile she had in days.

Temporarily distracted and completely aghast, Lucifer looked down at his knees and bemoaned the state of his suit with a low groan.  "Bloody hell I was not having a tantrum! And I * _warned_ * your spawn about this vile substan--" he was cut off by Chloe standing and gently placing a finger upon his lips.  "If you couldn't tell by now, Lucifer, we Decker women aren't very good at listening to your warnings, no matter how dire they seem," she said as she removed her finger to give him a quick peck of a kiss on the lips.  She wrapped her good arm around him, bringing him closely against her, resting her chin on his shoulder. Lucifer stood stark still, not fully fathoming how he came to be encircled, well half-encircled, in Chloe's arms. Slowly he brought his arms around her, gently holding her as if she may break at the slightest touch.

He started, "So, I take it this means...you're _not_ afraid of me?"

"Nope,"  Chloe replied, matter-of-factly, popping the “p”.  An unfamiliar yet warm feeling started to crack through Lucifer's consciousness as he felt the tightness in his chest finally start to relax.

"Even though I am the Devil..."

"Even though you're the Devil," Chloe echoed. “Though I still don’t see you that way.” That warm feeling continued to crack through the hardness he had built around his heart, feeling like light warming the earth after a cold and dark winter.

"Even though you saw my 'true form,' you're not going to run from me..." he croaked past the thick feeling in his throat.  He was nearly afraid to let the warmth he felt consume his whole being, for he had never surrendered himself to hope before.

"Excuse me, mister, but I think that of the two of us * _you're_ * the one that needs to work on not running away," Chloe stated matter-of-factly.  

Lucifer's arms constricted around her as a bark of disbelieving laughter tore from his throat. In the emotion of the moment, they both had momentarily forgotten Chloe's injury, but the crush of Lucifer's arms reminded her in full force.  Yelping in pain he released her instantly. "No no no! I can't break you now! Are you ok? What did I do?" he babbled as his hands ran over her arms in a jittery state of panic.  She patted his arm with a pained smile and sat back on the couch.

 "It's ok Lucifer, you didn’t ‘break me.’  I'm going to be like this for at least another six weeks.  I'm on suspension at work, then disability to cover the rest of that time until it heals," she stated simply, shrugging her good shoulder as she spoke.  

With a shaky sigh of relief, Lucifer looked down at her casually sitting on the couch, as if they had just discussed the weather rather than the fact that she was accepting him and all of his celestial qualities.  Which, suddenly gave him a marvelous idea. He shook his head slightly with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "That won't do at all...I knew you humans were fragile, but I didn't realize you're bodies were that slow to heal such a small thing," Lucifer stated as he took off his suit coat and placed it on the couch next to Chloe.  He unfastened his cuff links and rolled up his sleeves. Before Chloe could ask him what he was doing, he whispered with a smile, "Glitter-herpes be damned," as he kneeled back down in front of her. Somewhat shyly, he looked her directly in the eyes and took a deep breath.

 "I...would like to do something for you detective, but I don't wish to startle you. Would that be all right?"  Chloe nodded, unsure of what to expect. Lucifer flexed his shoulders, unfurling his glorious white wings to their full wingspan across her living room. As the rush of air from the wings’ unfurling swirled around her face and rustled the papers through her apartment, Chloe gasped in wonder at the sight before her.   _He's really not the Devil....he's my own guardian angel,_ she thought as she reached out to touch one.

 Lucifer snapped his wing back slightly at the unexpected touch, neither of them realizing just how sensitive his wings would be from contact with Chloe. _I’ll have to file that one away,_ Chloe thought, blushing.  Before she could reach out again, he plucked a single feather from the downy part of his left wing, then folded them back into their unseen home.  Still not understanding, she cocked her head at Lucifer, waiting for an explanation. "You see, detec--" he started.

 "I think you can just call me 'Chloe,' now Lucifer," she said, still blushing slightly as she shyly made eye contact with him once more.  His unsure smile changed and beamed, suddenly making Chloe understand why he was known as the "lightbringer."

 "Well, you see, * _Chloe_ *," he said in a soft and low voice as he perched next to her on the couch.  "The feathers of my wings have some...special properties...and I would like to use one to heal you."

 "How...how would that work?  You're not going to tickle the bones back together, right?" her attempt at humor falling slightly flat by her confusion.  

Finally feeling as though he were on steady ground, and feeling more like his old self by the minute, he replied with a sly smile, "No, darling, nothing as kinky as that.  Though if you have a thing for feather play or a wing kink, I'd be more than happy to defile my father’s gift with some naughty time with you during your work leave, should you so desire."

Chloe blushed furiously at his words, grateful the 'old Lucifer' was back, yet not quite willing to admit that she may have developed said 'wing kink' the second she saw his wings unfurled in her living room.   _Whoo boy...slow your roll there Decker,_ she chastised herself mentally as she swallowed back the visions that were sure to visit her later in her dreams.  "Ok, so...how does this work?" she asked tentatively.

"Well, my feathers have only been used on celestial beings before, so I'm a bit unsure if your response will be the same," he explained matter-of-factly.  "For beings like my brother and Maze, they're able to walk around a few moments after, fully energized and without issue. But, to ensure you're not going to inadvertently hurt yourself or move too much as the feather works, it would be best if we bound you somehow."

"You're not tying me up, Lucifer," she stated blandly.   _Ignore that mental image too, Decker,_ she chastised herself again, blushing deeper than before.

"Oooh another kink detec-- Chloe?"  he corrected himself mid-sentence. Dignifying his statement with only a glare in response, he chuckled.  "No worries darling. I'm simply suggesting you sit across my lap with my arm around you, that way I can hold you steady through whatever reaction you may have as you heal."

Chloe thought about it carefully as she eyed Lucifer somewhat wearily.  She had approximately a million questions, and was not the type to do drugs or try untested things when it came to medicine.  But, she knew Lucifer would never hurt her. After a few moments of internal debate, she acquiesced. "Ok...let's try this. But seriously, no tickling.  Ok?"

"Chloe, nothing shall happen that you do not want or consent to.  I give you my word," He said warmly as he moved to the end of the couch, swinging his legs up onto it, stretching out, and patting his lap for Chloe to follow.  Chloe waited a beat, then got up and gently perched herself in Lucifer's lap. Feeling slightly awkward and not being able to position herself completely comfortably due to the sling, she shifted and wiggled herself into a half - spooning position.

"Good dad, woman, you're going to be the death of me," Lucifer said impossibly lowly as she moved.  Her blush somehow deepened past any point she thought possible, then sat completely still, waiting for what would come next.  Lucifer gently lifted her and scooted her back against his chest slightly, his arm going around her waist. He then slowly placed the feather against her injured collarbone.  Both watched as the feather began to glow brilliantly, white light bursting from it as it started to sink and dematerialize into Chloe's body.

Chloe shuddered in surprise as a warm sensation started to build in the area of her injury.  It started somewhat slowly then began to burn hotter and hotter, until she yelped at the sensation.  But then as suddenly as it came, the hot sensation vanished, as did the sharpest pains from the injury. She felt a wave of happy exhaustion crash down on her, causing her to suddenly sag against Lucifer's chest.

"Chloe? Are you all right?" he asked worriedly, rubbing small circles across her hip with his hand.

"Mmmmmm.  The sharp pain is gone," she said sleepily, her body getting heavier with each passing second.  "I feel so tired..." she yawned, unable to stop herself. Lucifer chuckled against her hair. "I feel boneless...like… after a good massage."

"I can give you one, if it would help," Lucifer offered without innuendo as he lightly kissed the top of her head.  She smiled at his genuine desire to help her heal and feel better, and the easy affection that was now flowing between them.  

"When my collar bone feels less tender, I may take you up on that," she said as her head thunked heavily against his shoulder. Her eyes closed as she yawned, "Dan never really liked doing that, and he honestly wasn't very good at it."  She was already half-asleep as she mumbled, "I haven't had a decent shoulder massage in years," before succumbing to sleep completely.

"Well, my darling," Lucifer wickedly smiled to the unconscious miracle in his arms, "we're just going to have to fix that later, won't we?"  He reached out and grabbed the blanket that had been resting on the back of the couch and pulled it over himself and Chloe, tucking it in around her as she slept.  Carefully toeing off his shoes so he wouldn't wake her, he shifted his weight and settled more deeply into the soft cushions.

With his free hand, he pulled out his cell phone and set it to silent mode, then opened his chat string with Dr. Linda.  He tapped a few keys and hit the 'send' button before replacing the phone to his pocket, and tucking his arm back around Chloe under the blanket.  He closed his eyes and started breathing deeply, briefly wishing Amenadiel was there to stop time so that he could enjoy this moment for eternity, before lightly drifting into the first peaceful slumber he had experienced in, well, an eternity.

\------------------------

It was late.  Too late to still be awake.  Yet Linda paced the floor of her office anxiously,  staring alternately at the clock on her wall and the phone sitting on her desk.  It had been hours since Lucifer left her office, and she had been praying to whomever she thought would listen that Lucifer wouldn't chicken out and that Chloe wouldn't break his heart.  Suddenly her phone lit up, buzzing with a text notification. She nearly dove for it, ready to tell Lucifer where she was so he could come crashing back in for support, if necessary. She looked at the screen and gasped, screaming "FINALLY!" as tears stung her eyes. She whooped with joy and couldn't help doing a happy dance around her desk in response to the best text message she had ever received.  

 

🕵️+😈=👍 ❤ 🙌

 

     


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